Upstate NY metalcore pioneers All Out War have returned in bruising form on their nine-track endeavor INTO THE KILLING FIELDS, a triumphant album that no one ever expected to be released. But here it is, in all of its galloping Slayer thrash meets early days of hardcore glory (“The Murderers Among Us”) with a seething Mike Score keeping an eye on the world’s ills, presiding over the proceedings like never before with a voraciously venomous vocal delivery that gets the point across like a smack to the mouth (“Fear Those Who Claim Divinity”). If you yearn for the days when metalcore meant overtly brutal music that begat massive moshpits and carnage everywhere (“From Manipulation to Martyr”), this comeback release does the trick, furiously fusing the best Hatebreed, Terror, and Earth Crisis offer while standing strong alongside this trailblazing band’s storied catalog.www.victoryrecords.com
- Mike SOS